


How To Properly Navigate The 18th Century Without Having A Breakdown

by orphan_account



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Blood and Violence, Eventual Romance, F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Period-Typical Racism, Rating May Change, Swearing, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:14:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24748951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Wild how the world works and you're still trying to process everything
Relationships: Ratonhnhaké:ton | Connor/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	1. Prologue or How to Get Unfucked

You’ve come to accept whatever cards fate has dealt you with. You’ve been called resilient, yeah, though you hated it. You can live off of a packet of ramen a day, not bite off your shitty boss’ head and complain how shitty his wages are. You can do that. Sure you can handle being with a group of strangers on a mountain hike. 

Okay. That’s fine.

There was a sense of community anyway when someone needed something small like a wet wipe or a handful of nuts. You can handle maybe a few mosquito bites on your arms and neck. You can handle accidentally stepping on whatever animal feces you stepped on the trail. 

But what you can’t handle is being left alone in small closed spaces. Especially when it’s colder than a witch’s tit and it was in a fucking forest in the middle of wherever you are. You can’t handle this. Your swollen ankle hurts like hell and you hiss out every time you try to move. Worst part was there was no phone signal from where you were.

You were stranded. Inside a small cave. 

And you were dumb enough to take a potty break far away from the group, slipped on something wet when you finally pulled your pants up and rolled down, hitting your ankle in process. There was a momentary time where you blacked out after your head hit the stone wall and you woke up to the sun setting.

And that was it. Your throat was dry and itchy from shouting for help for hours. All you could do now was pray to whichever god gets to you first. 

Life was a party and you were the pinata.

Night time falls and it gets chillier. Your neon parka was enough to warm you during the trail and you weren’t sure if it’s going to last you through the night plus you weren’t risking your phone’s battery, she’s partially drained as it is and you were saving your power bank some other time. 

You know like, calling the cops or some help. Calling your parents to say that you were fine and all right and maybe quit your shit job and curse your boss. 

You left to wonder if your hiking group already called the authorities and were in the process of looking for you. Maybe a helicopter passed by and didn’t see you. Oh god, the very idea fucks you up and sends your heart racing and your breaths labored. 

Taking off your backpack, you set it by the walls to make a makeshift place to rest your head. As you were about to close your eyes, you hear a wolf’s howl into the night sky and leaves rustling with a sole leaf falling down from the cave’s mouth, down to the stone floor. 

You inhaled, squeezing your eyes shut and murmured an _Oh god_ before you stood up. You hobbled towards the opening while supporting yourself holding against the walls.

“Here it goes-” you suck in your breath and yell “Help me!” 

The sound of leaves rustling grew louder and you were thinking about how much this was a bad idea. Oh god, you were sure an animal was going to maul you down there or maybe some mountain creature or the goatmam himself. Your face grew pale when something tall stood between you and the moonlight. Their figure was big and imposing and you couldn’t stand on your tiptoes to get a better look at them. And also the fact that it was dark from where you are. They were merely a tall black figure from what you could see. 

“H-hey!” you waved your arms frantically. You try to do a little hop but you stopped due to the pain growing down in your ankle “I’ve been stuck here for a couple of hours now and-”

A howl, and their head turns to the right and leaves in a hurry.

Your eyes widened with a face full of shock and disappointment with a tiny bit of relief. You ran your tongue against your teeth and clicked your tongue and sighed as you got back to your makeshift bed. Twiddling your thumbs as they were neatly folded on your stomach. A sweat drops from your cold face and you wonder what that tall figure was. 

“If I die today” you closed your eyes and prayed “God take my soul and turn me into a fat cat in Korea” 

You bumped the sides of your clasped hand onto the bridge of your nose and repeated it over and over again. Your ears perked up when you heard a whimper and something squishy that almost made you want to vomit. Leaves rustle again and the tall shadowy figure comes back, their head just poking by the cave’s opening. They stare at you for a moment before tossing something down. 

It was a rope. 

You took your backpack and hobbled towards it. Hands grasping it tightly before taking a deep breath and climbing it. It wasn’t exactly a tall wall. It was climbable, for an expert mountain climber but you- you weren’t exactly a mountain climber or anything related to that. The most you can climb was your cupboards without a chair’s help. That’s it. 

As you climbed, you were mindful of your footing. Finding the right rocks to plant your foot and the right cracks to give yourself an advantage. And yet, there was one crack that decided to play a cruel joke on you and that your shoelace decided that it was a good idea to get stuck in it, making you yelp, sliding further down on the rope making your palms burn and your swollen ankle hit the rock wall, making grunt out in pain and curse loudly. You hoped your savior was still there. 

“Are you all right?” a man’s voice comes from above. It was soft and reassuring, you quickly thought. 

“No-ow ow ow” you replied, still holding onto the rope. Your body dangling mere inches away from the ground “My ankle is swollen and I can’t climb up properly!” 

“Hold tight onto the rope and I shall pull you up” you felt a tug “When you are sure that you are secure, give me signal to pull you up” 

“G-Gotcha!”

Tangling the rope around your arms and hands you shouted at him to pull you up. It took two tugs for you to get up and a squeal from you to get up. You feel someone tug you further up from the opening and be gently set down somewhere far away from it. 

“God” you breathed out, body still on the ground with your forearms supporting your upper body to distance yourself from the soil “Thank you. I was so stupid and I fell and I-” 

Looking up to face your hero, he had a white hood on. It covered his eyes and-

“ _Oh gosh, you’re big_ ” those words leave your mouth almost in a whisper. You noticed that he had multiple weapons strapped onto him, a bow and arrow on his back and what looks like an axe strapped to his hip. You continued to eye him. He had what looks like a coat and some...boots that you couldn’t recognize the fashion of. 

The man tilts his head at you. 

You try to push yourself up and he notices you struggle. He helps you to pick yourself up and holds onto your arm to assist you. Now that you had a closer look at him, you noticed that he had a light dusting of freckles on his face (and the fact that you had to crane your head up high just to take a look at his face). And upon, further, further inspection…you notice that there was blood on his white coat. 

You mentally groan and stealed yourself.

_Turn me into a fat cat god please. I won’t ask for anything else. Just take my soul and turn me into a fat cat._


	2. Step One : Thou Shall Think The Rational

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If god was testing you right now he might as well just fail you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw : for blood and some racism

You learned that his name was Connor and that he was on his way to Lexington for some business there. Then he leads you to his small camp. Just a 5 minute walk away from where you fell. He was nice enough to lend you a blanket when your parka wasn’t enough to keep you warm and looked awfully disgruntled at the color of it. 

_Damn, sorry if it offended you or something_

“Lexington is one ride away” he states as he unrolls a sleeping mat across the tent where you sat. You examine him closely and only now you realize how many weapons he had strapped to his person. A bow and arrow, a tomahawk you soon realized and some pirate looking guns. 

If god was testing you right now he might as well just fail you. 

_Connor could possibly be a total whack job and look how quiet he is! It’s becoming super uncomfortable_ , your brain shouts at you. _Brain, please shut the fuck up_ , you mentally shout back at yourself and bit your inner cheek. It wasn’t helping that he had dried up blood stains on his cream colored coat and he didn’t even look _initially_ bothered by it. 

Had you been in his spot, you would’ve hopped into a bath and scrub yourself red until no blood was on you. Then you’d probably burn the coat in a trash can and never see it again. What you didn’t realize was that you’ve been staring at him and when his eyes met yours, you quickly looked away. 

You’ve racked up all possible things he could. One, he could be a man who was into living _off the grid_ . Two, he could be a _LaRPer_ , who is taking this way _too seriously_ to the boot. There are people on the internet who do this for a living, you recall. Then lastly, a complete whack job, a serial killer looking for his next victim. 

The blood on his coat could be proof enough. Your blood runs cold when you see him cleaning a small knife with a small cloth, staining the fabric with dried blood. He raises the blade to have a better look at it and thats when your brain told you to _COME UP WITH A FUCKING PLAN_ to get away from him.

But before that, your stomach rumbles. Both of you stared at each other for a moment before a night air blew between you.

“I have some dried meat and berries here with me” he says and grabs a wooden bowl with food he mentioned then hands it to you. “Forgive me, I am running low on supply and that is all I have to offer”

“No, it’s fine really” you accepted it with a smile. The bowl had two slices of jerky and a handful of wildberries inside “You’ve helped me enough” You take the berries and pop them into your mouth. 

“There is a doctor in the next town” he said and points at your swollen ankle “We can have that checked there”

You nodded as you chewed away quietly.

“Thank you...but uhm” your voice softens. He hums out in question “I-is there like a payphone in the next town? I may need to call someone like the police or something”

“Pay phone?” he tries to say slowly and he has a look of confusion on his face. “I do not believe there is one of those there nor have I ever heard one. But we shall see”

“Oookay”

“We ride early tomorrow” he informs

You stopped eating. Is he for real? Maybe he was a total whack job and you give him an ‘ _are you bullshitting me right now’_ look when he lays down on his sleeping mat. Then again...you haven’t seen a single telephone line around here nor a lamp post-

_Nooo haha brain don’t do that_

You noticed that Connor had set his tomahawk beside him when he slept. No, he couldn’t be some killer. You were in a forest and animals tend to wander into places where they shouldn’t be, so that was logical enough . A wolf howled into the night and you quickly finished the food and set the bowl somewhere to the side and crawled into the tent. 

Sleep comes by hard and you dare not poke your head out the tent fearing for something that will rip your head off. 

\---------------------

He wasn’t joking when he said you guys would ride early. Your definition of early was wake up at 6 am and slack off a bit for 30 minutes, not wake up at 4 am and pack up and ride off kind of early. You even still had the blanket wrapped you. 

Then came the part of having to mount the horse. You’ve ridden motorcycles and bikes before, what’s the difference anyway? You just had to swing yourself up like they did in the movies. But standing beside the noble beast made you hesitate and intimidated.

“Uhhh” you blinked and Connor had just finished securing his belongings around the horse with your backpack. He walks over to where you are, hands clasped together. 

“I don’t know how to get up” and you lift up your injured foot “And I don’t think this will help” 

“Oh” he simply replies. He jumps on the horse quickly and you make a small face of awe before he offers his hand for you to grab onto. You gaze at it for a moment then grab his hand.

“Put your foot here” he shakes the metal stirrup and you look down at it. He takes off his and you use your good foot to step on it. He pulls you up with ease and you bump against his wide chest with a thump

“Sorry” you mumble pathetically. You can feel his heartbeat against your back and his chin nearly sits on top of your head. Heat rises in your cheeks and you scoot yourself a little so you won’t be resting against him. Being this close gives your heart a whiplash and for a brief moment, you feel warmth radiate off from him. 

He shifts in his seat, leans in closer and whisper into your ear

“Hold tight” 

If it was possible to blush too hard, you would. You grab whatever part of the saddle you could and the two of you ride off in the cold morning. The horse gallops and you fall asleep quick.

\---------------------

“Miss, we are here in Lexington” A small shake to your side and you groan out, wrapping the blanket around your body tighter.

You shifted slightly against your _pillow_ and snuggled your face against the comforting heat. “5 more minutes” groaning out, you brought a hand up to your face to rub the sleep out of your eyes.

Slowly peeling them open, the sun was already up in the sky and the tall trees’ branches swayed in the wind. More people came into view, wearing old era clothing. Vendors setting up their stalls by the side of the roads with animals roaming free. You feel hot air against your scalp and you look up-

Oh. _OH._

You push yourself off of him, embarrassed by your sudden closeness. Your back faced him, the small red blush hidden from his view. Connor clears his throat. 

“I will get off of the horse now. Please wait until I’ve finished trading these furs in and we shall see to your foot”

This was the equivalent of leaving your kid inside a car, you mused. The man gets down and he picks up the horse’s reins and leads it next to a small wooden cottage. By the window sills, there are small signages that look to be handwritten, offering various goods. Connor ties the horse’s reins near a post then goes inside with the furs he mentioned.

Giving you some time alone, you looked around your surroundings. You moved your head from side to side taking in whatever Lexington had to offer. People stared at you as you waited. 

“Well damn, sorry if I’m not in costume” you frowned. Coming up with some decent explanation for this, you figured that this was some kind of high budget period drama set, but you were wondering where the hell was the camera crew or the equipment. So, you slash it out. 

“Or could be some reenactors camp. Just some-” you witnessed some drunkard fall down and trip. Absolutely shitfaced without a care in the world “Really dedicated reenactors” You grimaced when he gets up and walks off to vomit somewhere by the trees. A few more minutes and you were becoming bored. Giving the horse a pat to his neck, you hopped down with a hiss and followed Connor into the store. 

\---------------------

“That’s all then?” the bearded man says behind the counter. Connor simply nodded.

The door chime jingles, signaling that someone has entered. The two men whip their heads and you limped right in. Connor makes a beeline to you and helps you find your footing. “You did not wait for me by the horse” he says and the tone of his voice unchanging, face covered by his hood. You shook your head and stood by the counter, hairy man eyeing you intently

“Now, who is this then Connor?” mischief twinkle in his eyes as he crossed his arms. Connor opens his mouth to give an explanation but gets cut off by him “A special lady friend of yours?” he laughs and the hooded man shakes his head. 

“No. I found her injured down a cave” he gives the shopkeeper your name and the man holds out his hand

“I’m Richard, owner of this fine establishment here” you shook his hand “Pleasure to meet you” taking yours back promptly, you scan the quaint store. Various weapons, such as guns, some supplies and some furs hung around. 

“Were you not asking for a pay-phone?” Connor asks with a slight tilt of his head at you.

“Oh, right right!” you cleared your throat and turned your attention back to Richard “Do you have a payphone at the back? I need to like call some people to tell them I’m here in Lexington”

Richard mouths the words payphone and chuckles

“I don’t think I have one of those, ah, what you call a _payphone_ ” he rubs the back of his head “If that’s some new fangled invention from Europe or the city, ‘fraid that we don’t have one here” 

“Seriously?” your tone came out a bit harsh. Mixture of disbelief, anger and general confusion. You had one brow arched up. The two men gazed at each other with Connor shrugging, before returning to you. You slapped a hand onto your forehead. Inhaling, you turn back at Richard

“Sorry, sorry. I’ve had a bad night. I guess” huffing out, you limped to the door “I’m going back to the horse” 

The door bursts open, making you land on your butt, and three men walk in. Connor, ever the gentleman, walks towards you and helps you up. The air becomes tense and you can hear everyone breathe. _And smell the three men. How nasty_. He leads you into the corner of the store, near Richard’s counter.

He leans into your ear “Get out quickly” a shiver runs down your spine “These men are-” 

He was unable to finish his sentence when a gloved black hand landed on his shoulder, forcing him to turn. A loud crunch and you just witnessed the larger man break his nose and pass out on the wooden floor. 

“Oh, you disgusting half breed-” there was emphasis on the last part, and you can feel the pain coming from Connor. 

Things become slow motion for you. First, everything was normal then it became a show of blood and carnage. Bodies of the men who came inside began to fly across the room and this is the first time you’ve seen a man get impaled in the neck. You couldn’t move and you couldn’t tear away your eyes from the scene. 

_This was real. This was real. This was rea-_

The sounds of flesh ripping and some wood breaking almost made you vomit. Your knees started to become weak. Blood pools down on the wooden floors and it reaches to your shoes, staining the soles. It splatters lightly against the blanket that was still wrapped around you.

Rationality was thrown out the window and you finally concluded that Connor or whoever he was : a killer. The coppery scent hits your nose and you feel like vomiting your stomach out.

_“WHAT THE FUCK”_


	3. Step Two : Listen To Your Guts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Are you finally going to kill me?” you mumble out with a soft chuckle. He jumps down from the branch, standing and looking down on you from his hood 
> 
> “Please make it quick”

It felt like someone slapped some sense into you when you finally got to process what the fuck you just witnessed. Your knees were shaking, adrenaline pumping into your veins and the threat of vomiting out the contents of your stomach became more apparent. Your heart pounded into your ear and made a run for it. 

Screw your swollen ankle, if you were going out - you were going out in your accord. 

Bursting out of the door with them shouting, your head was empty all except the manic urge to get away as far as possible. Anywhere is better than there and being stuck with Connor or whatever the hell he really is. The blanket wrapped around your body was now long gone the deeper you went into the forest. 

You weren’t a runner. The most you could do was a jog around an oval with breaks in between to calm your heart. But, oh god your lungs were already burning at this point. Your legs were about to buckle and fall down any moment now if you don’t stop, but you needed to survive. Make it out of there alive, call the cops or anyone who was willing to help. 

_God, if you hear me please just take my soul already_

One curious turn behind you, the village was nowhere in sight. Pride and relief swelled in your chest. Pride because you didn’t realize how far you’ve gotten without stopping, you gave yourself a mental high five. Relief because, well, you didn’t see that place anymore. Far away from them, the blood, the gore. All you needed to do now is find a good spot where you can get signal and-

You slowed down, panting and the pain down in your injured ankle coming back. No no no…

“I left…” you huffed out, wincing when a drop of sweat hits your eye “I left my shit with him...fuck” you bit your bottom lip to distract yourself from the other pain. Being mindful of your leg, you limped trying to think of a way to get out of here. You had second thoughts of going back to the village to get your things back. Then a wave of realization hit you, you were too deep into the forest you couldn’t possibly find your way back. Plus, they might be waiting for you with torches and pitchforks so they can string you up or something like that-

“You have got to stop watching slasher films” your palm connects your forehead to slap the thoughts away as you continue to walk. There were a lot of things you needed right now. Emotional support, reassurance and some first aid but not those. Not when you were extremely vulnerable and have the survival skills of a newborn babe.The juxtapose of birds happily chirping above you with the sun shining through the branches and your sorry predicament felt like you were in a bad tv show. Shitty production, shitty story and importantly : a shit cast. 

All you needed now was the fog to come in and then have the killer come in with a large sword dragging behind him.

“Okay...okay” you did your breathing exercises to calm yourself “Think of a game plan. Just gotta start a fire and uh find somewhere where there is clean water and then find the road and-”

You were cut off when your leg got caught in something. Your eyes widened and before you could make a noise, you tripped and fell on your face. It was tight and constricting and you couldn’t tug yourself out. 

A snare trap. 

“What” you continued to tug on it, hoping to get loose “What the fuck” you scrambled to sit up, fingers hooking around the rope to try and get to loosen. Tears welled up in your eyes, mouthing the words _no_ multiple times.

“PleasePleasePleasePlease” 

With shaky hands, you tried to pry it off of you. No good. You needed something sharp to cut yourself lose. You choked down a cry that wanted to escape your lips. You can’t afford this right now, not when you were lost, cold and scared. A rabbit passes by you, nose twitching and their black eyes watching you try to escape. 

“Not fucking funny” you shouted into the sky. The rabbit hops away in an almost mocking manner. That trap was meant for him, you thought. “So not fucking funny” your voice cracks

The intricate loops around the rope were starting to annoy you and your fingernails began to hurt whenever you tried to dig into it in hopes to cut it a little. Then your arms began to tire, fingertips began to glow red, you gave up. Plopping them to the side, you threw yourself onto the earth and looked up into the sunny sky. 

You closed your eyes, a teardrop falling down your cheek and sniffling. As you bit your bottom lip, your chin wobbled. You feel it. The throbbing pain around your leg and you were sure that the trap was cutting off the blood. A mess. You were a mess and in pain. You were sure you smelt like a leather hide that was under the sun for hours, sweat and dirt right now. Not a pleasant combination for anyone. 

“I’m stuck. I’m lost and there’s a killer who's probably hunting me right” you placed your hands on your eyes then swallowed a lump “I’m going to die here, oh god” 

A bird who sang into the sky made you feel a little connected to nature and peace. 

“Well, at least I’ll turn into fertilizer. My one final contribution to this fucking planet” you rolled to your side, hands extended up. You curled your hands into fists and trailed them to the side, unclenching and feeling the grass beneath your fingers. 

Wanting to cry out of despair was gone now. You’ve gone to accept your fate. You were ready but if you were going to go out you needed at least a song. Taking a deep breath, you hear the imaginary music in your head

“ _I am my mother’s child_ ” it started softly, voice slightly out of tone. A surge of courage came onto you to sing a little louder as you closed your eyes “ _I’ll love you ‘til my breathing stops_ . _I’ll love you ‘til you call the cops on me. But in our darkest hours, I stumbled on a secret power”_

Inhaling deeply, you let out the last few words as a shout. 

_“I’ll find a way to be without you, babe”_ The music in your mind softens and then you snapped back into reality when you heard the branch above you rustle. You ripped your eyes open to see a man standing above you. White hood, tall and multiple weapons on his person? In an almost poetic manner, the sun gives him a halo. Not cool. 

“Are you finally going to kill me?” you mumble out with a soft chuckle. He jumps down from the branch, standing and looking down from his hood 

“Please make it quick”

You close your eyes again and then hear the familiar sound of a weapon being unsheathed. You waited for the inevitable, the cold press of the blade onto your neck and the sharp blade digging into your throat. 

“Had it not been for your singing, I would never have found you” blood rushes back into your leg, making you lift your head up to see what he was doing. He throws the small rope to the side and inspects your ankle “You have ought to be careful, next time” 

Shifting yourself on the ground, you propped yourself on your elbows and tilt your head at him

“So like, you’re not going to kill me?” 

His head snaps at you, a confused look on his face

“No…?” he gets up and dusts off his hands “Why would I?”

“I mean, I just witnessed you kill a bunch of dudes there back at the store” Again with the confused look, he examines your ankle once more. 

“They were poachers and they were causing trouble for a nearby village for sometime now” 

“Ah…” you nodded slowly. You lifted the leg that was trapped and you noticed that the rope dug into your skin, wounding the flesh and small drops of blood trickling down. You felt a shiver down your spine and winced when you rotated the said foot. The pain was bearable but it was not a pretty sight. Just like that, he abruptly picks you up bridal style with ease. 

“Hey, big guy this isn’t really necessary I think I can walk-” that was replaced with a groan when both your legs ached. “Nevermind then” 

“There was no doctor available back in Lexington. The nearest one is at the Homestead, I shall take you to Dr.White” 

\---

Another trip on his horse and you felt your ass number than before. But there you were. In another village. Further away from where you started and you had no idea how to get out nor any idea where you were.

Hey, at least the bed you were in was comfortable. A bowl of hot soup was in your hands and the wound on your ankle was treated now. Wrapped up in a white bandage with some fancy herb scented paste while your swollen ankle had some sort of leverage beneath it. You’ve long shedded off your neon green parka and tucked it back inside your bag after getting some awkward stares from the locals in the Homestead. 

Now you were just left in your pants and a tank top. You stirred the hot soup with your spoon in contemplation. 

You’ve seen how the people here are dressed. You’ve listened to how they talked to each other (not to mention the scent of some people) and you’ve watched them from outside the window of the current room you’re in. 

You didn’t want to accept it but your guts kept telling you to accept the impossible.

_You’ve time travelled._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I love Lorde. And im backkkk a bit. hehe

**Author's Note:**

> Oh no its another time travel story from me and i havent exactly finished the jacob frye one huhu. ill put that on hold since im replaying ac3 and im out of ac syndicate creative juices :(( thank you for reading this tomfoolery (if u did lol)


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